Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Cooper's durability impresses Fletcher
STEVE Fletcher hailed Shaun Cooper's resilience after revealing the Dean Court stalwart had pledged his future to Cherries.[LNB] Cooper this week put pen to paper on an extended Dean Court deal, tying him to the club until 2013.[LNB] The Isle of Wight-born defender, who had signed a one-year deal in June, was restricted to just six league appearances during last season's epic League Two campaign after undergoing major hip surgery the previous summer.[LNB] But after 11 months on the sidelines, the 27-year-old returned in March to help Cherries win five of their final six games and secure promotion behind champions Notts County.[LNB] Assistant boss Fletcher told the Echo: We wanted to get Coops signed up and it's good to have the majority of the boys on longer contracts.[LNB] He is great to have around and is a great character. He has been at the club for a number of years now and thoroughly deserves to be offered the extension.[LNB] I was in the gym with him a few times while he was injured and he always had that worry in the back of his mind about his hip because it was such a long-term injury.[LNB] I spoke to him quite regularly because I was out for more than a year with my knee so I knew how he was feeling. I told him to be positive and I knew that once he had his first training session, everything would fall into place.[LNB] Fletcher, who watched Cooper make his 154th Cherries league appearance in Saturday's 1-0 win at Walsall, added: He has been magnificent since he came back into the team.[LNB] At the end of last season, I don't think it was a coincidence that we won our last four home games after he had returned. That pretty much sealed promotion for us and proves how vital he is to the squad.[LNB] Coops has been a mainstay for us over the past few weeks as well and is one of the main reasons the team has done so well.[LNB] Cooper is the latest Dean Court star to put pen to paper on a longer-term deal, with Mark Molesley, Harry Arter, Danny Ings and Joe Partington all committing themselves until at least 2013.[LNB] Fletcher said: We believe we have a great squad here and it's fantastic that the board recognises that by helping us get the lads on long-term contracts.[LNB] They deserve it and it hasn't happened for a few years. In the past we had only worked on year-to-year deals, but long may this continue.[LNB] It's fabulous for Lee and I that these lads want to stay here. They are happy here and nothing pleases me more as assistant manager than to offer someone a deal and practically straight away they are happy with it.[LNB] The players we have brought in and tied down so far have all come straight back to us and committed and that speaks volumes.ó[LNB]
